Equality Policy:

Page 8 of 10

Legislative Background:

Equality

Schools have a duty topromote equality of opportunity for all students and staff, regardless of their gender, sexual orientation, race, religion or disability.

New Equality Regulations (September 07)

New Equality Regulations have been introduced to take account of new policy developments since 2003 which impact on schools as employers. These regulations are the Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) (Religion or Belief) (Amendment) Regulations 2007.The new regulations were introduced to cover the gaps identified in relation to people who under new arrangements receive training at schools by which they are not employed — for example, people receiving initial teacher training in schools.

The new regulations extend to these individuals the protection from discrimination conferred by the 2003 Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) (Religion or Belief) Regulations.

Equality in the school workforce

Anti-discrimination legislation in force since December 2003 makes it unlawful to discriminate directly or indirectly, or harass or victimise anyone because of their actual or perceived sexual orientation. The regulations apply to all areas of employment, including recruitment, terms and conditions, promotions, transfers, training and dismissals.

Under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA) employers, including LEAs and governing bodies, must not discriminateagainst disabled people applying for jobs, or against existing disabled staff.

The Gender Equality Duty

The Gender Equality Duty came into force on 6 April 2007.All public authorities (including schools) must demonstrate that they are promoting equality for women and men and that they are eliminating sexual discrimination and harassment. They are also required to have a gender-equality scheme in place by the end of April 2007. The code of practice and other useful information like questions and answers are available on the Equal Opportunities Commission website.

Religion

Discrimination on grounds of religion and belief: guidance for schools Part 2 of the Equality Act 2006: Discrimination on Grounds of Religion or Belief comes into force on 30 April 2007. The provisions of the Act make discrimination in the area of goods, facilities and services on grounds of religion or belief unlawful.

For schools this means admissions, benefits and services for pupils, and treatment of pupils. For local authorities the provisions extend to the exercise of their functions.

Teachers of Religious Education (RE) can play a crucial role in highlighting the issue of religious discrimination and promoting understanding and tolerance of different faiths, and the framework for Religious Education supports these goals. The national curriculum outlines a programme of study for RE which is complemented by information on the schemes of work for Religious Education for Key Stages 1 and 2 and Key Stage 3.

Sexual orientation and homophobia

Schools are ideally placed to teach pupils about sexual orientation and how tochallenge homophobia, as they make a significant contribution to the development of values and attitudes in young children that are likely to be resistant to change in adulthood. Sex and relationship education (SRE) teaches young people to understand human sexuality and to respectthe sexual orientation of others. The Department hasproducedSex and Relationship Education Guidanceforteachers, which explains how to approach issues such assexual orientation with honesty and sensitivity andhow to deal with pupils' questions and offer support.

Section 28, thecommon name for Section 2a of the Local Government Act 1986, which banned local authorities in England and Wales from 'promoting' homosexuality in schools, was repealed in 2003 and replaced by new guidancefor schools on how to approach issues of sex and sexuality within the SRE framework. This guidance is explained in a downloadable factsheet. Tackling homophobic bullying is part of the Department's drive to tackle all forms of bullying, and is covered in depth in theschools' anti-bullying charter.

Race equality

Schools' race equality policies — from issues to outcomes is a concise guidance document whichaims to help schools to fulfil their obligations underthe Race RelationsAct and implement their statutory Race Equality Policy. It outlines practical steps that schools can take to mainstream race equality within existing work to improve pupils' attainment and to build a school community with a positive ethos that reflects the wider community.

Disability

Schools have a responsibility to ensure that disabled pupils have access to education and that they and their carers are given appropriate support.

To help to define whether someone has a disability, at least one of the following areas must be badly affected: mobility; manual dexterity; physical co-ordination; continence; ability to lift, carry or move everyday objects; speech, hearing or eyesight; memory or ability to concentrate, learn or understand; understanding of the risk of physical danger.

The Act (DDA) says that any treatment or correction should not be taken into account, including medical treatment or the use of a prosthesis or other aid (for example, a hearing aid). The only things which are taken into account are glasses or contact lenses.

Certain conditions are not considered impairments under the DDA: lifestyle choices such as tattoos and non-medical piercings; tendency to steal, set fires, and physical or sexual abuse of others; exhibitionism and voyeurism; hay-fever, if it doesn't aggravate the effects of an existing condition; addiction to or a dependency on alcohol, nicotine or any other substance, other than the substance being medically prescribed.

Educational institutions (EIs) including schools, may not discriminate against disabled people, whether pupils, students, other learners or staff and other employees. They must make reasonable adjustments to cater for disabled people so that all their services and facilities are accessible, and they have a duty to promote equality of opportunity in education and training. DfES, with its partners such as LEAs, Ofsted, LSC and ALI, has to ensure that EIs understand what they have to do and that the objectives are met.

The duty to make adjustments falls on the provider of the service, and it would be discriminatory if any cost fell on the disabled person. In schools extra help or equipment (auxiliary aids and services) are provided by the Local Education Authority following an assessment of the disabled person's needs. In FE and HE, financial support may be available via a Disabled Students Allowance (DSA) from the local authority, to pay for equipment, support workers etc.

The Disability Discrimination Act 2005 places a general duty on schools, who need to have due regard for the following when carrying out their functions:

·  Promoting equality of opportunity between disabled people and other people;

·  Eliminating discrimination that is unlawful under the DDA;

·  Eliminating harassment of disabled people that is related to their disability;

·  Promoting positive attitudes towards disabled people;

·  Encouraging participation in public life by disabled people;

·  Taking steps to meet disabled people’s needs, even if this requires more favourable treatment.

This is also known as the Disability Equality Duty (DED) and applies to all disabled pupils, staff and those using services provided by schools.

The Disability Equality Duty (DED)

Monitoring

To meet the Disability Equality Duty, it is essential that aspects of school life are monitored to identify whether there is an adverse impact on children and young people with disabilities. The following should be monitored:

Achievement of pupils by disability

Disabled staff (including numbers, type of disability and satisfaction rates in staff surveys etc.)

The role of a school as a service provider

Schools have additional implications as a service provider to make their buildings accessible when they hire out rooms or parts of the building.

Contact with parents and carers

When providing newsletters and information for parents and carers, schools should make this information available in an accessible format so that parents or carers who may be, for example, visually impaired, can access the information.

Additionally, events for parents and carers such as open evenings, meetings with teachers, should be held in accessible parts of the building.

Hiring transport

School staff will need to be aware of Section 6 of the Act when hiring transport as it puts new duties on transport providers, including the bus and coach companies, and the taxi and private hire car trade. The requirement to provide accessible vehicles is extended to include these transport providers. Bus companies will not be able to refuse a job because, for example, it may take longer to pick up disabled students.

Election of parent governors

The election of parent governors will now be covered by the DDA 2005, and governors will need to ensure that the procedures for candidates to stand for election and for parents to vote for candidates are accessible to disabled people. However, the result of the election is not covered and disabled candidates will not be able to claim that they were not elected simply because they were disabled. Once a disabled parent governor is elected, the school governing body functions in relation to that parent are covered and the school must ensure that they can participate fully in school life.

Involvement and consultation

It is a requirement that disabled pupils, staff and those using school services should be involved in the production of the Disability Equality Scheme.

Examples of involvement…

·  Consultation with disabled pupils / staff / parents to determine their priorities for the school with regards to disability equality over the next three years via:

·  Focus groups

·  Questionnaires

·  Feedback slips

·  Drop-in sessions

Making things happen

In order to ensure that action is taken to meet the Disability Equality Duty, a school has to draw up an action plan to make things happen, which outlines how the requirements of the DDA 2005 will be met. This action plan should be shaped in consultation with disabled people as outlined in the previous section, and may include some of the good practice examples below.

Good practice examples

The following examples were gathered from Special Educational Needs Co-ordinators at Lambeth schools, and provide good practice suggestions on how disability equality can be promoted in a school environment.

Promoting equality of opportunity between disabled people and other people.

Increase awareness of the ways in which parents of disabled children and young people can help to support their learning, for example through workshops;

Ensuring that the talents of disabled pupils are represented accordingly through the Gifted and Talented Registers.

Eliminating discrimination that is unlawful under the DDA and harassment of disabled people that is related to their disability.

Monitor incidents of harassment and bullying of disabled pupils. Encourage pupils to report and take action against offenders.

If a number of incidents have been prevalent within a particular year group, use circle time, story time or assembly to investigate and address the issue with all pupils.

Promoting positive attitudes towards disabled people.

Use the school environment to promote positive attitudes to disability. Ensure that disability is represented in posters, collages, displays and learning materials.

Making things happen

Promoting positive attitudes towards disabled people (continued)

Celebrate and highlight key events such as the Paralympics, Deaf Awareness Week and Learning Disability Week.

At schools with specialist units, staff have successfully raised awareness about disability by going to talk to pupils from the mainstream school.

Encouraging participation in public life by disabled people.

Ensure that disabled pupils are represented and encouraged to participate in class assemblies, plays, events and on the school council.


Five Islands School Policy:

Aims and Values:

As a school, we are committed to ensuring equality of education and we believe in promoting equality of opportunity for all members of the school community. We value all people, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, race, religion, nationality, ethnicity, language, culture or religion. The achievement of all pupils will be monitored and we will use this data to raise standards and ensure inclusive teaching. We will make reasonable adjustments to make sure that the school environment is as accessible as possible. The Five Islands School is committed to helping all its pupils and staff to realise their full potential, in an environment that embraces diversity and is free from discrimination.

From Racial Equality Policy:

Background:

As the only school on the islands, we have a universal admissions policy. The small number of pupils and staff from ethnic minorities at the Five Islands School reflects the low representation of ethnic minority groups within the islands’ community. It is all the more important to us, therefore, that the school teaches its pupils about the rich contribution that difference and diversity make to life in a multi-cultural society. Education plays a vital role in influencing young people, because the views on racial equality that they form as pupils will probably stay with them for the rest of their lives.

Outcomes:

1. Students – personal development, attainment and progress.

The aims of the Five Islands School are supported by the promotion of the welfare and academic achievement of all pupils. Pupils from all ethnic groups have high levels of attainment and rates of progress.

The school’s small number of pupils from ethnic minorities mean that few conclusions can be drawn from short-term analysis of performance and progress by racial group. The school therefore tracks the attainment of individual pupils from ethnic minorities using SATs data from KS2 and KS3 assessments to measure progress against that expected for all pupils in the school up to the end of KS3, and information about progress in GCSE, GNVQ and other accredited courses at KS4.

The school monitors patterns and trends in this data, and develops strategies for tackling unjustifiable disparities in the progress of pupils from ethnic minorities.

Where concerns about the progress of pupils from ethnic minorities arise, the school seeks the most appropriate intervention in consultation with parents.

Teachers are alert to early signs of disaffection, or a drop in attainment or progress. When this happens, the senior management team are alerted and an intervention is put in place to ensure that progress is resumed, and attainment is at the level expected.

The school assesses pupils’ need for support in English as an additional language, and contacts the Local Authority to seek the appropriate assistance. Individual planning for such pupils will focus on working with the pupil and his/her family to prioritise early acquisition of functional language skills to promote curricular and social access.